


Lost

by candyfloss_and_soy_milk



Series: Lost & Found [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Coming Out, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), First Kiss, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Mommy Issues, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, mentions of season 4 finale, you know the thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 12:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14934368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candyfloss_and_soy_milk/pseuds/candyfloss_and_soy_milk
Summary: Lance and Hunk volunteer for back-up when Keith and Krolia’s mission doesn’t go according to plan.





	Lost

**Author's Note:**

> Yeeeeaaaaaaaah I’m back kind of? Another one shot when I could be writing the next chapters for my active fics but blame uni because when you write for your degree it kind of kills it. But I have three months of summer and I can almost guarantee I’ll be writing more so look forward to that

Now, Lance has never been a selfish person, but god does he wish he acted on some of those impulses sometimes. 

He put aside his pettiness to follow Keith as the black paladin, approached said paladin about his worries and suggested stepping aside for the greater good and even let Keith go when he felt it was right for him to leave. For the last one, Lance really wishes he had been selfish and convinced Keith to stay. He wishes he still had a partner to go on missions with and crack jokes to, but instead he feels like a third wheel in the castle, or seventh. Even more so than before. Pidge and Hunk were the tech geniuses (the self proclaimed team Punk, which Lance had to admit was clever), Allura and Lotor had the whole Oriande thing and Coran had his weird intestinal eel. Okay maybe that last one didn’t make him feel left out, but still. 

But Lance had to put all that aside for the good of the team. After all, Shiro had called out to him in the astral plane and come to him to talk about how he’s feeling. There were more important things at hand. 

More importantly, missing his friend wasn’t nearly as important as the Galra Empire being in ruins. Lance had heard of the Blade’s plans to help stabilise the warring factions and it sounded dangerous and terrifying. He pushed aside the anxious thoughts for Keith’s well-being, because the best pilot of his generation who is also a badass samurai ought to be fine, even in the toughest of fights. He believed in Keith. 

“Dude, you’ve been playing with your goo and not eating it, what’s up?” Hunk nudged him with his spork and pulled him out of his thoughts.

“What? Oh sorry, I’m good, don’t worry.” Lance gave his friend a halfhearted smile to attempt to reassure him. 

Hunk frowned but didn’t press any further. The two of them were eating dinner alone, with Pidge taking hers to her hangar so she can keep working and the Alteans and Shiro said they’ll eat later; dealing with politics and junk is more important and Lance didn’t blame them. 

He kept thinking in circles, he misses Keith and wishes he’d been selfish and told him not to leave, then he doesn’t blame him because family is important, then he thinks about feeling left out, then again about missing Keith and he eventually reached the end of his tether. 

“You know what,” Hunk looked at Lance with his spork hanging out of his mouth and a quizzical look in his eyes, “I’m not good, buddy. I’m really fucking sad.”

Hunk patted his shoulder sympathetically and put his spork down. “Is it Keith?”

Lance raised an eyebrow, “how did you-?”

“It’s a gift from having known you for years.” Hunk answered. “You were just getting close with the guy and he up and leaves on a soul searching solo quest, and you’re beating yourself up about it, even though it’s not your fault.”

“Huh. That’s one hell of a gift.”

“I was just waiting for you to be ready to tell me about it before I pried.” 

Lance scoffed. “Yeah, right, you nosy bastard. You just wanted the juicy gossip.”

He simply shrugged in response, “can you blame me?”

“Yeah dude, you used to read my text messages-”

“-for your own protection! I didn’t want you getting your heartbroken again by either Jenny.”

Lance scowled at that. It was a long time ago and kind of pathetic to dwell on considering he was caught up in the middle of an intergalactic war, but goddamn did it still hurt to remember the painful rejection. “It was Jenny Kim, not Shaybon dude.”

“Ah I thought so.” Hunk smirked. Lance didn’t like feeding his friend’s gossip habit, but it was nicer to talk about the past than the presents problems. There was just too much. 

But because the universe is out to personally get him, Hunk brings the conversation back to Keith. 

“So, have you tried talking to him about it?”

Lance buried his face in his hands with a groan. “God, no. I’d never hear the end of it. He’d do that dumb voice he uses when he’s one upped me, like when he got my lion back and when we had the squishy asteroid fight.”

“What dumb voice?”

“You know, the husky one? Sounds like some kinda gritty batman reboot.”

“Oh that one.” He raised an eyebrow at Lance. He gave back a blank look, unsure of what Hunk was hinting at. The yellow paladin did an exaggerated wink. Oh. That’s what he meant. Hunk smirked when Lance felt his ears heat up. “The sexy one.”

“Wha- no it isn’t- I’ve never- it’s not sexy, Hunk!” Lance didn’t mean to get flustered. He really didn’t. He’d never hear the end of this, either. 

“Sure, sure whatever man.” Hunk turned back to his food goo, “but you’d be better off talking to him about it. If you tell him you miss him, you never know, he might just come back to the team.”

Lance scoffed, “Yeah right, and Donald Trump became president in the time that we’ve been gone.” 

 

•••

 

Lance has often watched cartoons with his younger siblings, Luis and Marco were very into Gravity Falls during its run and it grew on him too. The characters were just so relatable and captivating, even if he thought Mabel was a brat more often than not. 

His favourite character was Wendy, and like Dipper he thought she was super cool and deserved better than Robbie. He liked to think he was the badass one of his own team, but that title was held by Allura. (The princess could throw down, goddamn.) One guilty secret of his was that he did relate to how awkward Dipper was with his crush; he’d be notorious for crushing on someone way out of his league on astronomical proportions and he, too, did lay awake at night thinking about his crushes. 

What he didn’t expect, though, was that night, he lay awake thinking about Keith. 

It didn’t make sense, they were rivals turned friends. They had a friendly competitive spirit between them and nothing more. Well, apart from Lance always being there for Keith, because he needed the support in trying times. And Keith reassuring him that he’s a valuable asset to the team, because he saw use in Lance’s role in the team. Nothing more than that. 

But Hunk’s teasing haunted him. And his brain just would not shut up about the sexy Christian Bale voice Keith would occasionally put on. 

Oh no, Lance thought. 

 

•••

 

Allura called a coalition meeting again to discuss the next step. With the Galra throne being held by Lotor, and Lotor is allied with Voltron, all that there was left to do was to put an end to the fighting between factions and the universe would be at peace, right? Seemed simple enough. 

Except it wasn’t. 

The warring factions brought innocent planets into the firing line, and Kolivan brought a new, unsettling piece of news to the table. 

“We currently have an agent out in the field aiming to destroy a powerful weapon that could be used in the fight for the Galra throne. Keith and Krolia were supposed to report back three earth hours ago about the status of the weapon, but we haven’t been able to get a message through.” Kolivan’s face looked more grim than usual, and that unsettled the paladins. 

“That is deeply troubling... do we know much about this weapon?” Allura asked. 

“From the intelligence gathered, we can assume it is some form of genetic hybrid, made using a powerful form of quintessence we’ve only recently stumbled upon.”

“A...new form of quintessence?” Lotor looked astonished, like it was new information to him. He’s the new emperor, if he didn’t know what was going on, then there’s certainly something foul at play here. 

“Yes, your highness. We’ve studied a small sample before and it’s blown our scales, we can’t take any readings because we didn’t make any readers to take such large numbers.”

“That’s astonishing.” Lotor looked like a kid who’d just been told about a new bestselling toy on the market. Lance scowled in his direction; now was not the time to be getting gooey eyed over a powerful, clean energy source. Keith was potentially in danger right now.

“How long until Keith has to report back before you send in back up?” Lance piped up. He wasn’t used to having the entire panel of coalition leaders looking at him; no amount of amateur theatre from his pre-Garrison days could prepare him for such intense gazes. Swallowing thickly, he spoke again, “if you don’t mind my asking, Kolivan sir.”

“One more of your Earth hours. Why do you ask, blue pilot?” 

“It’s nothing-“ Lance started, only to be interrupted by...

“We volunteer to be back up, if the time comes.” Hunk’s face was set, determined but Lance could see a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. 

“No, Hunk, you and Lance are needed here. What if we need Voltron?” Shiro asked. 

“We haven’t needed Voltron in about a week and a half. A few more hours isn’t gonna change that.” The Black paladin frowned at Hunk still. “Besides, if Keith is caught up in a fire fight between the two biggest factions, he’s gonna need speed and armour for his back-up team. And that’s what the red and yellow lions have, respectively. It makes the most sense.”

Lance blinked in surprise. He’d thought about going alone - zip in and out with red and be on his way - but Hunk was right, as usual. His lions body armour would come in handy. 

Pidge voiced his exact thoughts: “he’s right, Shiro. Statistically speaking, it makes the most sense.” 

“Well, we’ll see if Kolivan gets that call.” Shiro folded his arms, still protective and unsure of the circumstances, but Lance could tell that he understood it was better than nothing. 

The meeting rounded off with further discussion about the factions and how the Galra have divided and the best way to approach either appeasing them or putting an end to the fighting in less peaceful methods. Lance switched off from listening and spent the remainder of the meeting having a silent argument with Hunk. He didn’t intend to ask for his help, so Hunk’s offer for him and Lance to go did irritate him, even if it did make sense for the two of them to go. There was more at risk of just Red going in for back up, because she and Lance would be exposed and if Hunk were to be there too, he could pull the fire away from Red if Lance needs to make a stop to pick up Keith and whoever Krolia was - another Blade member he assumed. 

Not to mention the fact Lance was absolutely dreading the talk Hunk will inevitably have with him on the way to getting Keith, which would only make Lance more uncomfortable should he have to be alone with the former red paladin. He didn’t need to think about whatever feelings have emerged, especially not when Keith’s life was potentially on the line. 

 

•••

 

“You’re my mum?” Keith had no thoughts in his head. None. He was physically unable to process what Krolia had just told him. There’s no way, of all the bases in all of the Galra empire, of all the people for Kolivan to send him to, it happened to be his mother?!

“Don’t look so surprised, Keith, the apple doesn’t fall that far from the tree.”

“But-“ Keith stopped himself from arguing, he did have to admit she did look strikingly like himself, if he were purple, a foot taller and a woman. “It’s-“

“It is possible. Believe me, kid.”

Despite it all, Keith scoffed. “Not what I was gonna say, and I’m not a kid. I’m nineteen.” His face shifted into a scowl. “It’s been nineteen years since you left.”

Krolia’s face softened, guilt and regret heavily present in the way she looked at him. “I had no choice, my mission was only supposed to be a short one, and I assume you know how the Blade is with attachments.”

“Yeah but there’s attachments and there’s leaving a family behind.” He folded his arms, trying to will the itch behind his eyes away. 

“Keith,” she put a hand on his shoulder, “I’m so deeply sorry. I can’t take back the mistakes of my past, but I can make things right now.” She tried a comforting smile, “besides, I did say I’d never leave you again.”

Keith’s expression softened, even if it risked the chance of the tears spilling from his eyes. He opened his mouth to respond, but something drew his mother’s attention on the dashboard of the ship and panic filled her eyes. 

“Activate your mask.”

“What?”

“Activate your mask, right now!” And he did, and felt his mother’s arms wrap around him. A millisecond later, something shattered and he watched the walls of the ship crack and fissure, and the force of the explosion trying to pry him and his mother apart. 

 

•••

 

“You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?” Hunk said, tactfully having chosen a private channel for his and Lance’s inevitable talk. 

The time ran out, and Kolivan approved Hunk and Lance as a rescue team (as that’s what it was deemed at this point, and it made Lance feel cold thinking about) much to the displeasure of Shiro. Allura and Lotor didn’t seem to have much of a problem with the plan, which only made Lance’s suspicion about Shiro’s behaviour worsen. Why was he so opposed? Did he want one of his closest friends to potentially die? Did he know what that would do to the team - the team who all miss him beyond comprehension? 

Lance shook his head, dispelling the thoughts for now. “Not now, Hunk.”

“Yes, now, Lance.” He could hear the stubborn tone of voice and cringed. Hunk was serious business when he needed to be. “You were going to go out and rescue your damsel in distress on your own, weren’t you?”

Yes. “No.”

“Don’t lie to me, Lance.” He could picture the look of disapproval he was getting. “Do you know how hypocritical that is? You used to complain all the time about Keith being the hothead who rushes off into suicide missions. Now, who’s being a hothead?”

“I know, I know. I get it.” He rubbed his face; Red was basically flying on autopilot anyway. “I’m- I just- I’m worried, okay?”

Hunk’s voice softened, “I know, buddy. But you still gotta think things through. You’re no good to Keith or any of the rest of us dead in an explosion without any back up.”

Lance laughed bitterly. “Well I guess so. If I were to die in a horrific explosion at the hands of the Galra I’d at least like you as witness so you can write it into the history books I died a valiant death.”

He heard a scoff, “Yeah, valiant, my ass. In this hypothetical, you’re dying trying to save the guy you like while still being in denial about it. You’d die a typical chaotic bisexual death.”

“Dude, I am not-“ he stopped himself, “okay, yeah, I guess- I’m just not quite- I’ve not yet come to terms with it yet.”

A period of silence fell. The only sound was a soft reassuring purr from Red. 

Hunk cleared his throat, “how long have you known?”

“Dude how long have you known? I’ve only known myself for the last like year and a half, maximum.”

“As your best friend, I pride myself in knowing you better than you know yourself.” Hunk paused. “Also, I caught you checking out Shiro’s ass this one time in the Garrison and didn’t want to say anything at the time, but I put the pieces together. It was just a matter of you figuring it out too.”

Lance’s face burned. “Oh god, just kill me now.”

“Nah, no can do, buddy. We’re almost there.”

His face cooled as he took in the scene in front of him. Exiting the wormhole just a few clicks from the base Keith had been sent to and Lance could see debris and destruction littering the vacuum of space. He tried to keep his thoughts optimistic but from what he could see, it didn’t look like there was much alive. 

Further away, in the atmosphere of the planet, a fleet of Galra ships still waited, almost with baited breath. Lance’s assumption was they were protecting what they thought was a base to contain that super weapon Kolivan mentioned. If Keith’s mission was a success - albeit a long and drawn out one, given he hadn’t contacted the Blades - they were guarding nothing, with Keith having destroyed the weapon. Yep. That’s definitely the case, and he totally wasn’t looking out for a dying or dead friend floating in space. Keep optimistic, Lance, he’s the best pilot of your generation and he’s a friend, so he wouldn’t be so selfish as to just let himself die without saying goodbye. 

“Shit.” Lance said aloud. 

“Don’t lose hope, buddy. We’ll find him.”

“I almost hoped we’d bust into a fire fight and pull him outta there. Not...this.”

“We will find him. We’re not leaving without him.”

 

•••

 

Keith’s eyes were clamped shut. All he could feel was a wild spinning sensation and Krolia’s iron grip. Even though he knew he was floating wildly in an expanse of space, he was comforted by his mother’s arms. He’d missed his dad so damn much, and had been so craving a parental source of comfort for a long time, and he found it. Finally. In the most unlikely and dangerous of places, sure. But he’d found her. He was mad, but at least he had someone to be mad at. 

Their spinning speed slowed down; one of Krolia’s arms had detached and latched onto something else. Keith opened his eyes and saw her clinging onto a loose piece of debris, or an asteroid. 

“Are you okay?” Krolia asked, but was interrupted again by the unmistakable sound of an ion cannon charging. 

The blast missed them, but the shockwave started to push pieces of debris around with a domino effect. The asteroid Krolia was clinging to was hit with a force that knocked Keith from her grasp. In the few seconds, he was out of control he couldn’t move; whether it was caused by the stress or his own personal exhaustion he couldn’t tell, all he knew was that he was thankful for Krolia catching him. She gripped his wrist and tried to pull him in, that mother’s fierce protective nature kicking in. Growing up without her, meant that he could see the determination on her face like he was watching a nature documentary. A mother lion protecting her cub from danger. The snarl on her face could deter any living threat. 

The beam stopped, only for it to be recharged swiftly after. Krolia managed to pull him back into her embrace as the next charge fired. This time the force pushed them back onto the asteroid, knocking the wind out of them. “We need- to get to- another ship.” She panted. “They won’t- stop until- they know- we’re dead.”

“We’re just- two people though? How much- of a threat could we- possibly be?”

“Ladnog must have- found Trugg’s body. The weapon- it’s loose.” Krolia took in a deep breath, trying to stabilise her breathing. “She must know that we let it out- if we were to get the information- to the rebels, Ladnog would be toast.”

Keith huffed, “so what do we do?” He frowned. “It’s not like there’s a wide array of- ships to choose from.”

“Kolivan must have sent back up by now, I couldn’t contact him back on the base.” Krolia looked over Keith’s head, spotting something in the distance; Keith followed suit and his frown deepened. “I didn’t expect that, though.”

 

•••

 

“Do you see him?” 

“If I could I would have said something, Hunk.”

“What about Red? Does she still have a connection with him? Try seeing through her eyes.”

Lance sighed. Maybe if he was still with Blue, but Blue wouldn’t be able to find Keith. “Our bond isn’t that strong.”

“Give it a try?” Hunk’s voice was reassuring, why he believed in him, he wasn’t sure. He hasn’t been with Red long, nor has he had many chances to build on the bond they had, so this would just be a shot in the dark. 

Lance sighed, “it’s a first time for everything, I guess.”

“I believe in you, buddy.” Was the last sound Lance allowed himself to hear. 

He closed his eyes and tried to meditate - the basic technique from their first days in the castle would probably work best right now. He never had much trouble with Blue, but Red was different; he didn’t have much of a choice. 

Lance had always looked up to Keith, but never really seen the similar qualities they share. He’d always focus on the hotheaded, brash behaviour since being out in space, and before that Keith was just an ideal that no one believed he could reach, let alone surpass. When it came down to it though, the two value strong teamwork (even if it takes some practice on Keith’s part) and want what’s best for the team. Lance figured if he focusses on that, their shared qualities and connections to Red, he’d have his best chance of finding him. 

Nothing. Red growled in frustration, like there was something Lance didn’t get and wasn’t doing right. What was he supposed to do? Magically send telepathic messages toward Keith? Think about the dumb mullet? 

He sighed. It was no use. “Hunk, buddy, I can’t find him.

“Aw man-“

“I just want to find him, make sure he’s safe, you know?”

“Buddy-“ Hunk’s voice was drowned out by a growl from Red. 

“Shush hold that thought.”

“Wha- Lance I was just-“

“SHUSH SHUSH SHUSH!” Lance closed his eyes, trying to hear through Red’s ears. “Red’s trying to tell me something.”

Distantly, Lance heard a muffled, “Oh now she speaks,” from Hunk, but once again he was drowned out by growling. Lance really concentrated, channeled his thoughts about Red, Keith and their connection and then suddenly everything stopped. He was a little shocked at first, but everything sounded so crystal clear; Red’s purring bad faded away, Hunk’s disgruntled babbling had silenced. Lance could hear some debris knocking into each other, and distantly, two people breathing. Unaware of his actions, he started to drive Red in the direction of the two people. It had to be Keith. It’s just had to be. 

 

•••

 

“Friends of yours?” Krolia’s tone was a little too casual for someone floating in space, even if they were about to be rescued by the Red Lion, and trailing a little behind was Yellow. 

“Lance, goddamn it.” It’s not that he wasn’t happy to be being rescued by his old team mates - and two people he’d considered close friends up until he’d left at that - it was more of a frustration because they had just been under attack and both Lance and Hunk were in a very exposed section of space. Not to mention they’re in the most desirable weapons in the universe. So yeah, Keith was a little pissed. 

Keith spared a look at his mother, who had an eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face. He frowned back in response. “What?” She asked, “I was just gonna say you sounded like I used to. The way I spoke to your father.”

He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide the blush. Besides, he’d known Krolia for less than a day, she couldn’t possibly pin point similarities in their personalities after such a short amount of time. Although, he had heard of the fabled “motherly instincts” and he supposed one of those is knowing your kid better than they know themselves. 

No. That wasn’t it. 

She’d missed out on 19 years of his life. He didn’t even remember her from when he was a kid. She didn’t deserve to know him that well, at least not yet. He’d just found her, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to let her know just how shitty a childhood he had as a result of her not being around. 

“Whatever.” He grunted, as the Red and Yellow lions were within range of them now. 

“Keith! Buddy! Is that you?” Lance’s voice was high pitched and painful to Keith’s ears, after being blasted to shit for the past god knows how long. “Who’s your friend? Wait never mind, just get in here.” Red’s maw opened and Keith activated his jetpack, flying inside, with Krolia not far behind. 

They made their way to the cockpit and Lance leapt from the pilot seat and rushed over. 

Now, being hugged by his estranged mother was one thing. Getting a surprise hug from LANCE was another. He knew Lance was a touchy guy, affectionately leaning on his friends or playfully punching their shoulders, but Keith never expected it directed at him and him alone. 

Not knowing what to do in this situation - Lance’s arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders - Keith tentatively rested his hands on Lance’s waist and was glad to be facing away from both Krolia and Lance. Because he was blushing. Hard. 

“Buddy, you’re okay.” A note of relief hung on Lance’s words, but there was also something else, underneath. Concern for his wellbeing, maybe?

Keith tried to put on his couldn’t-care-less tone of voice, “Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?” It wasn’t as successful as he’d hoped. 

Lance pulled away and eyeballed him, apparently not noticing his bright red cheeks or choosing to not tease him about it. “Dude. Bro. Buddy. You were floating in a field of debris. There’s a Galra fleet over there-“ he gestured wildly to the windscreen and out “-and you could’ve been toast.”

“We very nearly were.” Krolia spoke up, causing Lance to freeze momentarily and release Keith from his death grip. 

Lance cleared his throat and muttered a curse word before reaching a hand out for Krolia to shake. It was refreshing to see Lance flustered again; just as funny and entertaining to Keith as he’d always been, when not meaning to. “I’m sorry, we haven’t been properly introduced.” Krolia took off her helmet before taking Lance’s hand and shaking it. 

“Krolia. Lance, is it?”

Keith rolled his eyes when he saw Lance’s expression change. Oh no, a pick up line was coming. “That’s what some people call me, but you can call me any time.”

Lance added a wink on the end, Krolia raised an eyebrow at and made Keith face-palm. Keith’s mother, stepped toward him and ruffled his hair like a little kid. “Alright, Any Time it is.” 

“Lance, she’s my mother,” Keith muttered to Lance, who promptly blushed to his hair roots. Krolia smiled and winked - WINKED - back at Lance.

She stepped toward the control panel and started scanning it over, obviously intrigued by how the lion works. Lance just stared with that defeated look on his face when his pick up lines don’t land (they never do) mixed with the horror of finding out he’d flirted with Keith’s mother. He made his way back over to the seat and Keith decided to hang back, while Krolia asked questions about how Red works. Keith just needed a bit of space to brood for a second. 

Krolia was clearly good with kids, if she treated Lance the way she did, so why did she not stick around for him? He supposed there had to be a reason she left, if she was willing to get to know at least one human, fall in love with him and have a kid, then she can’t have wanted to leave, right? She and his dad loved each other, from what he could remember of stories he’d been told, and there’s got to be a good reason. Got to be. 

Keith kept thinking himself in the same circles over and over until they made it back to the Castle. He was being jostled by Lance when he was finally pulled from his thoughts. The red pilot was smiling down at him, his expression relieved to have him back. Keith smiled back, and Lance took that as a signal to charge out of the lion yelling “Hey everybody! Keith’s back!” 

He pulled himself up, smiling at his dork of a friend. Keith never tried to hide that he missed his found family, he’d just been so busy, and even now he thought to himself that this rest stop will be just that. 

“C’mon kid,” Krolia placed a hand on his shoulder, “why don’t you introduce me to your family?” At that, Keith smiled. He was relieved that she understood what these people meant to him, even after just under two years with them in space. Keith was also was glad she understood that she would have to work her way up to being his family, too. He wasn’t quite ready to accept her fully just yet. 

“Dude! What are you doing? Get your butt out here!” Lance called, and Keith’s smile turned into a grin and he ran to reunite with his family properly, with his birth mother in tow. 

 

•••

 

Lance, despite having technically already got the first hug in, found himself a little disheartened that he wasn’t the first to hug Keith as he reentered the Castle. That glory went to Hunk, who practically tackled Keith to the ground. The two stumbled and Lance cringed, bracing for their impact, but they miraculously stayed upright. That being said, Keith didn’t look entirely unhurt; he was in a Hunk hug after all. The Yellow Paladin had a tendency to either give the most angelic, cosy hugs, or give brutal, bone breaking hugs. This seemed to be a bone breaking one. Keith’s face was turning a shade of purple not too dissimilar from his mother’s due to asphyxiation. 

“Keith, buddy, you don’t know how much we’ve missed you.”

“I can hazard a guess.” He even sounded like he was being suffocated. 

Hunk realised and leapt back, an embarrassed look on his face. “Sorry, man. Just emotional y’know.”

Keith opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by a high pitched scream from the doorway. 

“Keith fucking Kogane, you bastard!” Pidge yelled, charging in. No one could tell whether she intended to pummel him or hug him or both. 

Keith visibly gulped. 

The tiny gremlin leapt and wrapped her skinny arms and legs around Keith like she was a koala, only her arms were being primarily used for punching Keith. Lance had expected her response to be intense but something was different. She seemed angry. But what for?

Matt, Allura and Coran piled in next, all claiming their hugs, after prying the sobbing imp from Keith’s chest. The Alteans seemed chipper enough to see Keith home, but Matt had an unreadable expression on his face. 

“Where’s Shiro?” Keith asked, eyes scanning the faces around him, looking for his best friend. 

The room fell quiet for a second. Shiro was a bit of a touchy subject, and Lance especially felt rubbed up the wrong way. Despite Lance being the person Shiro chose to confide in first about how he was feeling, he couldn’t get his superior officers expression out of his head. It was the same as Iverson’s, the same as his dad’s; it was the universal disappointed-and-taking-out-anger-on-Lance expression. The rest of the team were also noticing Shiro’s behaviour changes, all of whom have tried different methods of cheering up Lance on different occasions, but none of it seemed to work. So like with a lot of things, Lance repressed it. There were bigger things at hand than the way he was feeling anyway. 

It was Matt who spoke up. “He’s off on a diplomatic run with Lotor. They’ve been spending a lot of time together.”

“And not in a gay way-“ Hunk whispered to Lance with a smirk, only to get an elbow in the gut. 

Keith looked bummed, but was trying his damnedest to hide it. “Oh. Okay.” 

A voice was cleared outside the circle, pulling everyone’s gaze to the tall woman who everyone had glossed over until this point. “Oh right.” Keith turned to face his mother, “this is my mum, Krolia.”

“Your what?!” Pidge yelped. Krolia quirked an eyebrow, to which the green paladin seemed to have a little freak out over. “Oh fuck- I didn’t mean- I just- ah fuck.” 

Matt elbowed Pidge’s ribs. “Dude, language.”

“Your mum, huh?” Hunk said, approaching Krolia. Lance hoped to whatever deity there was out there that he would be nice Hunk and not pain-in-the-butt Hunk. He put his hand out for Krolia to shake and Lance exhaled a breath of relief. Nice Hunk it is. “Nice to meet you.” 

Coran approached next, shaking the Marmora Mother’s hand vigorously. (Mumora? Lance thought.) “Well it’s always nice to meet one of our paladin’s blood relatives. He seems to have gotten his good looks from you, madam.” The gorgeous man offered a wink, making Krolia laugh. Lance spared a glance at Keith, who looked shocked to see his birth mother laugh. 

Keith wasn’t really a people person per se, but he was still a person with emotions, and it just so happens that he was not good at hiding them. For all he tried, he well and truly sucked at it. After a few months of bonding with the guy, Lance could tell on a superficial level how he was feeling, but having known him for nearly two years at this point, he was beginning to see subtle changes that indicated how he was feeling. Lance was pretty certain Keith didn’t want to let on that he was just as shocked as the rest of them that he’d found his mother in a battlefield in space, but Lance could tell. He approached his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. Keith looked shocked, looking at Lance’s hand and then up at his face and back again. Lance just offered him a soft, reassuring smile. He was there for Keith, no matter what. Keith’s eyes widened and he flushed ever so slightly across his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose, and Lance couldn’t stop the ‘he’s adorable’ thought from forming in his head. He almost flushed too as a result. 

In the time of introductions, Keith and Lance had missed Krolia updating the team about her time in the base watching over the super weapon; Lance clocked back in as Krolia was explaining how she’d released it and was almost certain it had killed the Galra general Trugg and her foot soldiers. “We managed to escape after that, but they kept firing at us, even after we’d been blown out of our pod.”

Allura’s face was ashen. “Right. We must arrange a meeting with Kolivan immediately.”

“Lead the way, princess.” Krolia left the room with Coran and Allura, quite urgently, but not before turning and offering Keith a smile and a wink. God if this woman wasn’t the mother of his gay crush then maybe he could-

No. Shut up, Lance. Inappropriate. 

Matt and Pidge had approached tentatively in the time Lance was inside his own head again. They, too, looked troubled. 

“Uh, Matt? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. You okay, bud?” Hunk asked. 

Matt and Pidge shared a look. Pidge nodded. “Can we talk to Keith for a moment please?”

“What’s up, are you guys in trouble or something?” Lance was genuinely concerned. He looked between the Holts and Keith. Once he looked at Keith, he saw a wash of emotions sweep over his expression in milliseconds. Confusion; realisation; shock; shame. Lance put his hand on Keith’s back, “are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll just talk to you later, okay?” Keith didn’t look at him, but Lance guessed it was something he didn’t want Lance to hear. He nodded anyway and left the room with Hunk, only worrying more. 

 

•••

 

“I can’t believe you!” Pidge was hitting him again. “Why would you do something so stupid? If your fucking ammo wasn’t enough to penetrate that shield what on earth made you think ramming your ship into it would do any better of a job?” She broke down crying, her punches less forceful than before. “You stupid idiot.”

“The team cares about you a lot, dude. I had to at least tell Katie.” Matt had a hand on his sisters shoulder, but was eyeballing Keith seriously. “After we just had to say goodbye to our dad, after thinking him to be dead for so long, we are not prepared to lose someone else so dear to us.” 

Keith felt his eyes starting to well too, he wrapped his arms around a sobbing Pidge. 

She spoke up, voice muffled by Keith’s armour and her own sobs. “I know you feel like you’re doing important work with the Blades, but you could be doing important work here too.” She looked up at him, her hazel eyes puffy and miserable. “We don’t know what’s going on with Shiro but we could always use another black paladin around here. The guys off on his own or with Lotor more often, you never know.” She sounded almost hopeful. 

“I don’t know.”

“At least consider it.” Pidge stepped back, wiping her eyes. “You owe us that much after that stunt you pulled.”

“For the sake of the team. For the sake of your family. Please.” Matt’s eyes mirrored Pidge’s pleading ones. It was hard to say no to, and Keith was homesick, if he admitted it to himself. 

“I’ll think about it,” it wasn’t a convincing answer, but he gave the siblings a reassuring smile and hoped that was enough. 

 

•••

 

It was a couple hours later, Allura, Coran and Krolia were still in the meeting, and Lance was just out of the shower. He figured now would be a good time to have a well deserved nap, but then thought back to Hunk’s words about talking to Keith and... Lance flopped back onto his bed. He grabbed a pillow and screamed into it. 

Why now? Why did all of his feelings have to happen now? 

It’s not like he was surprised when Hunk guessed his sexuality earlier, though. Lance had been going over it in his head a little while but back in the Garrison? He was certain he was into girls, but realising he’s had gay crushes too, was a bit harder to adjust to. Like he’d realised he liked Naveen and Flynn Rider a little too much in the Princess and the Frog and Tangled, it didn’t stop with Disney movies though. Apparently, his 14 year old self was subconsciously crushing on his hero Shiro too. It was all a big mess and he didn’t quite understand himself. Like if he didn’t realise those tiny things, just how long has he subconsciously liked Keith then? After the bonding moment all those months ago, he’d repressed it, but in that moment Lance could only process the warmth Keith emanated and the adorable smile he’d given him. And then when Keith and Allura had thought they were the ones Zarkon was tracking, Lance assumed he was jealous of Keith getting alone-time with Allura but he supposed it was the other way around as well? 

Perhaps this was just who he was, a chaotic bisexual dude like Hunk had said. His best friend was right he does know him better than he knows himself. 

But okay, he supposed he was bi with a big gay crush on his former teammate, but what was he gonna do about it? He didn’t know if Keith was queer too, let alone if he felt the same way, so there’s too much to risk in telling him that. He could always just vent to Hunk, but he didn’t want to feel like a burden, or give him more teasing fuel. The latter did seem like the lesser of two evils though. 

Lance begrudgingly sat up, and began rehearsing mentally what he was going to say to his best friend. “I know what you’re gonna say, but hear me out. I know we went over this already, but I think I can- I think I can say it now.” He was pacing his room and steeled his nerves to walk to the door and open it, declaring to himself, “I’m bisexual.” 

He locked eyes with Keith. Who had been apparently about to knock on his door. 

“Shit.”

“Was that- was that meant for me or...?” Keith looked taken aback because Lance just came out to him by accident and he couldn’t be more mortified. His face was practically aflame right at that moment. 

Lance panicked, “No! No, not meant for you, I was gonna go talk to Hunk first but...” he saw that Keith’s expression was a confusing mess so he took pity on the guy. “You wanna, um, come in?”

“Uh yeah.” Keith slipped past him, not making eye contact.

“Sorry...about that.” 

“No, no it’s okay.”

“I literally just, like, accepted it, so kind of needed to talk to my best friend about it.” Keith blinked, looking kind of upset. “Not- not that your one of my best friends too, it’s just I’ve known Hunk for forever and-”

“Really Lance, it’s fine.” He gulped, almost nervously. “It’s cool you’re bi.”

Lance nodded, the air in the room suddenly getting a lot hotter and thicker. They stood awkwardly in silence for a couple seconds before Lance couldn’t take it. “You want to talk to me about something or...?”

“Oh. Right.” Keith fiddled with his fingerless gloves. It was nice to see him in his casual clothes again, for the first time in ages. He looked comfortable, but also not, because of the weird, awkward tension in the room. “I just- I wanted to thank you.”

“For?”

“Today. For saving me and...my mum.” Keith swallowed again. “I’m not quite ready to open up to her yet, there’s still some stuff we need to talk about.”

“That’s okay, buddy. You found her out of the blue, it’s understandable you’d need some time. Take all the time you need, I’m here for you.” Lance smiled sweetly, and Keith smiled back shyly too, but that smile quickly shifted to a frown. 

“That’s the third time you’ve called me buddy today.”

Lance quirked an eyebrow, “and?”

“And you just came out to me.”

He was still confused by what Keith meant. “I’m not following here.”

“Do you- do you really see me that way? Do you trust me like a friend?”

“Yeah of course I do. We all do. Your part of this dysfunctional space family too.”

Keith’s frown deepened, “I would hardly say ‘dysfunctional’.”

“Whatever, Keith. You’re one of us. We all care about you.”

“Even,” he took a deep breath, “even when I do reckless shit you always nag me about?”

Lance laughed, “then too. You wouldn’t be our hotheaded emo boy if you weren’t reckless. Like all the time.” 

Another deep breath, “so if I told you about something pretty... bad I did, you’d still forgive and care about me, right?”

Frowning, Lance said, “of course. But what did you-“

“I’m not- I’m not ready to tell you yet. I want to tell you all. When Shiro’s back.” Keith looked into his eyes. “It’s not nice, and I know you’d get mad.”

“Did you kill someone Keith?” Lance joked, but only got a scowl in return. 

“I’m serious. I can’t tell you now, but I want to know, even if it was ridiculous and reckless, you would still... forgive me, right?”

Lance put both hands on Keith’s shoulders. “That’s a dumb question, of course we would.”

“Would you, though?”

“Me? Yeah of course, I care about you too. A lot actually.” He didn’t mean to add the last part, but he didn’t regret it, because it meant that Keith went in for a hug. 

A Keith hug is different from others he’s had. Pidge isn’t much of a hugger, she mostly grunts and pushes him away. Shiro’s were like a dad’s would be, a tight squeeze and a heavy pat on the back for good measure. Coran is a swayer, in his hugs he’d sway him from side to side and squeeze like a silly uncle. Hunk’s hugs we’ve established come in two types: cozy and crushing. Allura’s hugs are rare, but short and sweet. But Keith, he latches on like if he lets go, he’d disappear. His breathing was ragged as he huffed out another, “thank you.” 

Lance squeezed back, “I’ve always got your back.” He tried to pull back to look Keith in the eyes, but the grip the other boy had was scarily strong. “You know that, right?”

Keith nodded and nuzzled into Lance’s shoulder. Butterflies erupted in Lance’s stomach and an impulsive, selfish part of him was screaming at him to confess, right in that moment. And he almost did, “Keith, I-“

“Shush.” Keith’s voice was muffled but he still heard it, “we’re having a bonding moment.”

Lance gasped incredulously, and hit Keith on the back as the other boy laughed. “Are you ever gonna let that go?”

“Never.” Lance scoffed and Keith actually pulled back. “Wait, were you going to say something?”

“Kinda, but you ruined it.” Keith laughed again. Lance would never tire of hearing it. 

“No, but seriously. What were you going to say?” Keith’s huge, dark eyes blinked up at him and Lance was having real trouble fighting his urge to spill everything. There was something else willing him on, a tiny voice at the back of his thoughts willing him to do something almost Keith-level reckless and stupid. 

Fuck it, he figured. If Keith was going to come out and tell the team about some stupidly reckless thing he did, then given they’ve both piloted the red lion, why not give into impulses. 

The space between them lessened and Lance closed his eyes, so he didn’t have to look potential rejection in the eye. He rested his forehead on Keith’s and breathed, “can I show you?”

Lance knew Keith was known for being pretty oblivious, especially in social situations, but he’d have to be an actual moron to not read the signs. 

The quick nod Keith offered was enough.

The space closed even further until there was none and Lance was kissing Keith. It was gentle and tentative; Lance was surprised to find that Keith’s lips were much softer than he anticipated and not at all chapped. They moved slowly, and softly, almost treasuring the few seconds of contact. 

They pulled apart quite quickly. “Surprise! I like you.” Lance said, tone jokey and playful. 

Keith smiled, “I would have never guessed.”

Lance had to blink for a second. “Did- wait, hold on. Did you just use sarcasm?”

That laugh again. God, he’d never get over it. Not as long as they’re both alive. “I can make jokes too, idiot.”

“Well you just kissed this idiot, so the jokes on you.” Then something occurred to Lance. “Wait, do you-“

“Yes, Lance.” He rolled his eyes. “I kissed back, didn’t I?”

Lance sniggered. “Yeah, you did.”

“And I’m gonna do it again.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! It really means a lot <3
> 
> Also:  
> I was thinking while writing this I could do a sequel?? Like exploring how Keith tells the team about that dumb fucking stunt he pulled at the end of season four - if you guys would be interested pls let me know :3
> 
> Also Also:  
> \- I may or may not have characterised Krolia after my own mother in terms of mannerisms and such and I’m aware that’s not with her characterisation in the show but we haven’t seen much of her yet so I figured why not  
> \- Lance’s stream of consciousness about realising his sexuality is mirrored off of my own, realising I was in love with a lot of the Disney princesses and predominantly Kim Possible as a child but my oblivious ass didn’t get it until waaaaay later


End file.
